After NeoGen: the kit, the shade, and the factor 50

The treatment is the easy part to talk about. The fortnight after is what decides whether the skin heals well. I treat at Emmanuel Hall in The Lee, and every woman who has NeoGen goes home with the same plain instructions, whether she has driven from Great Missenden, Wendover or High Wycombe.

What is in the bag

An eLIVEate Me kit, with AllSkin Med for the barrier. I chose AllSkin Med and Heliocare because the results are science-led and because people will actually use them. You do not need a new bathroom shelf. Gentle cleanser, the repair products you are sent home with, shade, and patience. That is the routine. If I have asked you to pause retinoids and acids, they stay paused until I say otherwise.

The factor 50, even in November

A Buckinghamshire winter is not a free pass. Low sun on a lane, a bright day in the car, a walk on the common in Amersham. It is still sun, and freshly treated skin does not need it. Heliocare, from Cantabria Labs, is the one I use, because it sits well enough that you put it on. Buy the one you will wear, not the one that looks impressive on a shelf. A hat is not silly for the first week if we have done the face or the neck.

What I do not want you doing

• Picking flakes, however tempting on day five
• A face mask, a scrub, or a new acid you found online at midnight
• Gym, sauna, hot yoga, or a long hot bath while the skin is tight
• Makeup on the treated skin until I say it is ready
• Judging the result in the car park. Collagen keeps being laid down for months.

I message you on WhatsApp for 7 days so you are not guessing. If something worries you, you tell me. You do not experiment. Eyes and hands start at £350, a neck at £450, a face or the arms at £750. The aftercare is the same idea for all of them: leave the skin alone and let it do the work.